Francis Castle (Earth-1320)
Biography Early Life Francis "Frank" Castle was born to, being a member of a prominent [[Italy (Earth-1320)|Sicilian]] family. At a young age, Frank found himself interested in serving the [[United States Armed Forces (Earth-1320)|US Marine Corps]], and he ought to do it following a inspirational speech from his father. It was in his 20s that Frank met the young [[Maria Castle (Earth-1320)|Maria Kennedy]], whom he fell in love with during a military parade on Manhattan. After years spent together, Frank eventually had two children with Maria, [[Lisa Castle (Earth-1320)|Lisa Castle]] and [[Francis Castle, Jr. (Earth-1320)|Francis Castle, Jr.]] A happy family, they moved to [[New York City (Earth-1320)#Astoria|Astoria]] where they lived in a small, comfortable residence. However, their stability would end when [[George Bush (Earth-1320)|President George Bush]], following [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks 9/11], proclaimed the "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Terror War on Terror]", convoking members of the US Armed Forces to move their efforts into the regions in the middle-east to combat terrorists. Being a member of the United States Marine Corps, Frank was quick to join in the US' efforts against terrorism. Iraq War Arriving on Iraq, Frank found himself under the command of [[Raymond Schoonover (Earth-1320)|General Ray Schoonover]], widely known by the Marine Corps as an excellent tactician and commander. In one of their operations, Schoonover almost find himself killed, which was averted thanks to the efforts of Castle who managed to take down all of his team's targets, managing to accomplish 20 kills. This act led General Schoonover to deeply respect Frank, even stating he was the greatest soldier he ever fought alongside. In 2013, when [[Barack Obama (Earth-1320)|President Barack Obama]] declared the end of the War, Frank fell in joy when he discovered he would join his family again. Taking the first airplane from [[Portugal (Earth-1320)|Portugal]] to the [[United States of America (Earth-1320)|United States]], he met Maria, Lisa and Frank, Jr. in the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy_International_Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport] at morning. That night they ate pancakes, Frank's favorite meal, to celebrate his return. The Massacre Only two days following his return, Frank proposed to his family a trip through [[Central Park (Earth-1320)|Central Park]], which they accepted without thinking twice. There, they were passing through a lake when shots were heard. As he covered for his safety, Frank could only stare, without words, as he saw his family killed in front of him; the shooters being composed of members of different criminal empires through New York, such as the [[Mexican Cartel (Earth-1320)|Mexican Cartel]] and the [[Kitchen Irish (Earth-1320)|Kitchen Irish]]. A second passed and Frank was also hit by a bullet, which passed through his brain. His body was recovered later on and sent to [[Manhattan General (Earth-1320)|Manhattan General]], where he was overseen by [[Leslie Thompkins (Earth-1320)|Doctor Leslie Thompkins]], who concluded he was dead. Unexplainibly, Frank awakened, in a rage state, trying to escape from the hospital, only to be sedated by the medical team. In the following day he awakened, and went to the [[New York City Police Department (Earth-1320)|New York Police Department]], demanding justice, only to find the police could not track down the responsibles for his family's death. The response devastated Frank deeply, as he has lost all that mattered in his life. Leaving the precint to roam without objective through the streets, Frank had a though to use of his particular abilities in the Marine Corps to track down the responsibles for the death of his wife and children and finally avenge them. Arming himself with numerous weapons, bullet-proof vest and explosives, he would now punish everyone who had involvement with the deaths of his loved ones. Slaughtering the Criminal Underworld Attack on the Kitchen Irish During a reunion of the Kitchen Irish at one of their safehouses led by [[Nesbitt (Earth-1320)|Nesbitt]], Frank tracked them down, in the hopes of extracting information from their conversation. As he listened, Frank heard about Nesbitt's plans of rising the Kitchen Irish once again, as the downfall of [[Carmine Falcone (Earth-1320)|Carmine Falcone]] at the hands of [[Bruce Wayne (Earth-1320)|Batman]] and [[Harvey Dent (Earth-1320)|Two-Face]] had allowed other criminal organizations to grow, citing his commanding position and that he was in charge following [[Finn Cooley (Earth-1320)|Finn Cooley's]] return to [[Ireland (Earth-1320)|Ireland]]. Deciding he had heard more than enough, Frank started to shoot all of the criminals from a distance with a sniper rifle, killing Nesbitt and all the others with the exception of one henchman. Frank then hid his gun and went to the safehouse, seeing the carnage he had produced, and slowly approached the dying henchman. He asked him about the Central Park Massacre without revealing his presence in the firefight, but the criminal knew nothing about it, saying he was just following orders. Angrily, Frank revealed he had no use anymore, and before he could die by his wounds, the henchman was shot in the head by Frank with a shotgun, killing him instantly. The Punisher In his continuing quest for vengeance, Castle found one of the Mexican Cartel's hideouts and sought to kill them as well. Ambushing them, he incapacitated the criminals and left they hanging in meathooks inside a meat house. His actions gained fame across New York City, and he soon came to be known as the Punisher, a vigilante without any mercy for criminals. This obviously attracked the attention of both Batman and [[Alfred Pennyworth (Earth-1320)|Alfred]], who sought to uncover the murderer's identity. Ambush Fatal Test Tracked Down Finn Cooley's Vengeance